


What stars do best

by siojo



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M, Marineford AU, mentioned Gol D Roger, mentioned Portgas D Rouge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-14 00:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7144538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siojo/pseuds/siojo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, Garp had always started the story, a pirate fell in love with the stars. But, he whispered leaning to where his grandsons settled before him, this pirate was different because one of his stars fell in love with him too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What stars do best

“And the star fell in love with the Pirate,” Marco pauses, turning to glance to where Ace had taken aside the children of the island they had helped, his flames creating pictures for the story he was telling.

“Stars can fall in love?” A little girl asks in wonder.

Ace nods, “They are very picky and the star was an oddity amongst her kind, always far too interested in the humans of Earth, something that the Elders scolded her for constantly. But he had named her when no one else had, talked to her, told her stories, how was she suppose to react?”

The picture shifts, the star, marked by the hibiscus flowers in a crown around it’s circular body hovered over the pirate ship, a man in the crow’s nest.

“One day, after her pirate was forced to end a story midway because the night had become day again, the star made her choice. She went to the elders and told them that they would need to place a new star into the sky to replace her and then,” The star vanished and on an island that appeared suddenly, a woman stood. “She fell.”

“Now, the star was on the same world as the pirate that she loved, but,” Ace leans forward to whisper. “But she didn’t know if he would ever find her, not if she was on an island, so she gathered a crew all her own and set sail to find her pirate.”

The scene changed to the Pirate, his figure frantic as it searched the night sky. Ace had given the man a mustache, in fact, if Marco didn’t know better, he would say that the pirate looked oddly like Roger.

“The pirate had found her missing and spent weeks looking for her. He tried anything, desperate for his beloved star to appear in the night sky, but she never did. It upset him, for what if his star had died? Vanished? They were friends.” The Pirate looked dejected. “But his first mate dragged him from his crow’s nest and forced him back to work, it didn’t’ stop him from searching the skies, longing for his star.”

“One day,” Two ships appeared side by side, the star on one and her pirate on the other. “The star found her pirate and hailed his ship, marching to his side and demanding to know how the story ended. Her pirate stared at her in confusion, for a pretty woman he had never seen before had demanded something of him, until he spotted the glow. For if there is one thing that Stars are good at, it’s shining.”

“And so the Pirate and his Star were married and they lived happily ever after. The End.” Ace announces, the picture vanishing as if it had never been there.

“That was the best story!” One of the girls shouts, vanishing into the adults appearing to collect them. “Thank you, Division Commander!”

Marco grins as the last kid vanished, “That’s how it ends?”

“No, the Pirate become famous and his star becomes pregnant. He goes to the gallows and she dies bringing their son into the world.” Ace answers, brushing dirt from his shorts. “Their son is given to an old man to raise. That’s how it ends.”

“I thought it would be happier,” Marco states honestly. “What happens to their son?”

Ace blinks at him, nose wrinkling, “No idea. Like I said, the story ends with the Star and the Pirate dying, if there was more to it, my Gramps never told me.” He tilts his head. “I’d like to think that their son was happy.”

“Yeah?” Marco asks.

“Sure, stories are suppose to have happy endings.” Ace answers with a grin. “Besides, the kid had to shine, it’s what stars do best after all.”

“Do best?” Ace laughs, “Stars, what they do best, is shine. It’s part of how the star convinces the pirate that she’s the one he lost. It was in the picture book that Gramps had.”

“I see.” Marco doesn’t, but maybe he missed the point of the story. “Come on, Pops wants us all back on the ship.” He nods to where Ace’s hat is hanging from a broken tree branch. “We’re headed out.”

“The repairs are done?” Ace asks, slamming his hat back on his head and hurrying to keep up with Marco. “Already?”

Marco shakes his head, “But the marines are coming and we’ll hover nearby encase they don’t stay to help. What was the story you were telling?”

“A pirate fell in love with the stars and one of the stars fell in love with the pirate.” Ace answers “And then they both die.”

“Sounds like one of those bad romance novels that Haruta and Izo like to read.” Marco mutters.

Ace laughs, bouncing ahead to the ship without making a comment, his face glowing. Marco wonders if the stars could compare to Ace when he shone, the brightest spot of fire in Marco’s life. He shakes the thought from his head, ignoring the looks that Thatch shoots his way, after all, it doesn’t matter what he thinks of Ace, because he’s family and that’s enough.

 

 

 

Ace tilts his head back, alone on the deck, his eyes focusing on distant stars as he hums to something that has always hovered in his memories. He jolts, almost losing his seat on the railing of the crow’s nest as the door to lower decks slaps open.

Thatch’s hair turns from side to side and Ace can almost see the confusion on the cook’s face. Vista’s men were suppose to be on shift, but Ace traded with them, his mind unable to sleep and his very body just short of vibrating. He lets go a single one of his hotarubi floating to catch Thatch’s eyes, waving once his brother spotted him.

“You staying up there?” Thatch shouts.

Ace nods.

“Alright, call if you see anything.”

Ace settles back, gaze on the stars. He ignores the creak of the door, it was too early to be Thatch’s relief, but some of the crew keep strange sleep schedules.

“Teach?” Thatch asks.

Ace jolts, glancing down in time to catch the knife sliding just to the side of Thatch’s spine, held by a member of his division. His gaze goes dark as Teach rambles to himself, devouring the devil’s fruit that Thatch had found.

“Commander?” Teach starts as Ace lands silently on the deck. “What?”

Fire swirls around Ace’s feet, “You hurt Thatch.” Something inside him snaps and his flames slam into Teach’s face before he can get his fruit to work, burning half of his face. “You hurt Thatch!”

Noise starts up below deck and Teach jumps, landing in a boat that he must have set up, but Ace ignores it. He ignores it and grabs Thatch, kicking the door off it’s hinges as he hurries to the medical bay.

Izumi starts when he kicks the door open, his eyes wild, “Ace?”

“Thatch’s been stabbed.” He answers. “Please?”

“Put him on the bed,” Izumi orders, already grabbing her kit. “Get out and if you see any of the medical staff, send them in.”

Ace takes one last long look at Thatch and does, slamming into Marco’s chest as he exits, his arms going around Marco’s sides.

“Ace?” Marco asks.

“Teach stabbed Thatch.” Ace says, voice muffled. “He stabbed him and I burned him. I let him go, I’m sorry.”

Marco’s arm wraps around his shoulders, the other catching Izo by the arm, “Thatch’s still alive?”

“Yes. Izumi wants the rest of the medics.”

Marco barks orders into the crowded hall and people scurry to obey, all of them rushing about as the other commanders force their way to where Marco’s kept Ace and Izo from moving.

“What’s going on?” Namur asks.

Vista stares at Ace, “I thought you had final shift?”

It takes hours to settle things, but Vista’s men admit to trading with Ace and Teach’s things have all vanished, along with the man himself. It’s only after everything’s gone quiet and Izumi’s announced that Thatch’ll make it, that Ace goes to see Whitebeard.

“I want you to know that I don’t want you to go.” Whitebeard states.

Ace nods, “He was in my division and he would have killed Thatch if not for me. That means that he’s mine to hunt down.”

“We don’t have enough information.”

“I’m going.” Ace states, his tone final.

Whitebeard sighs, “You’re as stubborn as your father.” Ace flinches. “Go and do what you must.”

Ace smiles, “I won’t let you down.”

Ace remembers those words as Teach’s Yami Yami wins their fight, he remembers his promise and hates himself for failing.

 

 

 

Ace forgets.

He forgets about the secrets of his life more then he doesn’t, which is why, when he slides before Luffy and takes Akainu’s attack, he thinks he’s going to die.

Except.

Except there isn’t any pain.

He laughs as Akainu jerks his arm back out of his chest and feels the hole seal itself up. Luffy startles and the battles slow around them.

“The Mera Mera is weak to the Megu Megu!” Akainu says in horror.

Ace rocks back on his heels, hands stuffed into his pockets as he wishes for his hat, “Who said I ever ate the Mera Mera?”

“Everyone knows, how else would you control fire?” He snaps. “You should be dead, Gol.”

“You know,” Ace sighs. “Everyone makes such a big deal about the man who created me, but they always, always forget my mother. Portgas D Rouge named herself for two things. For the nickname her husband gave her and for what she was.”

He can hear Garp laughing, his Gramps already knowing how this is going to end.

“What she was?” Ace hears whispered around them.

“My mother Fell for my father in all senses of the word, Gol D Roger charmed a star from the sky and made it his wife.” Ace smirks. “You’ve burned, Akainu.”

The arm that tried to kill him is black from fingertip to just above the elbow, burned completely.

“It’s easy to pretend I ate the Mera Mera, so easy that sometimes, I forget that I haven’t. That I hid it away and kept my fire contained to what people expected of the Mera Mera.” Ace says easily. “Because stars, we can’t swim, and it’s easy to pretend that seastone affects us.”

Akainu’s arm falls to pieces, chunks of ashes falling to the ground until there’s nothing but a stump left. The flames that swirl at Ace’s feet change from the oranges and reds that he normally kept them at, burning white and light blue as he takes a step forward, ignoring the way the ground melted underneath him.

“I spent so much time pretending to be entirely human, that I forgot that I wasn’t.” Ace says coldly. “And I’m going to kill you, Akainu.”

He doesn’t even touch the marine before he’s erupted in flames, gone before he has a chance to scream.

Ace turns his attention to the admirals, ignoring his Gramp’s giggling, “I suggest that you allow us to leave, or I’ll do that,” He nods to the pile of ashes. “To the lot of you.”

 

 

 

Marco raises an eyebrow, “So, a star?”

“Half a star,” Ace corrects, sitting away from the others as he tries to rein himself back in, Marco had insisted on joining him, saying that he would just heal, anyway. “Means it’s harder to control. Why I never did it before now.”

“How does a human and a star?” Marco asks.

Ace sighs, “Mom left a lot of her powers in the sky, out of reach, and a couple of the others were willing to give her a bit of their control. Stars don’t need it so much if they’re just shining in the sky.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve got less power and using it like I have the Mera Mera let’s the excess bleed off. Besides, if I did that to everyone, I would burn out.”

“Burn out?”

Ace taps his chest, “This is my human body, but it’s also a shell containing the power of a star. I can burn out my ability to hold this shape.”

“Is that what happened to your mother?”

“No. Mom fed on herself to keep me from being born,” Ace rolls his eyes at the confusion on Marco’s face. “Mom used herself to lengthen her pregnancy, she destroyed herself so that I would live. By the time I was born, there was only enough of her to hold her shape and live another hour.”

Marco nods slowly, “How long does a star live?”

“A very long time. Stars aren’t immortal and half a star is even less, but I’ll live for centuries unless I drown.” Ace smirks. “Why do you ask?”

“I’ve never had someone who could last as long as I would. Or anywhere close to it.” Marco says easily.

Ace hums, “That’s how you propose.” He laughs at Marco’s face. “That’s how a star proposes. You ask them to stay with you, don’t worry, I’m not going to hold you to those standards.”

Marco slides his hand across the space between them, twisting his fingers together with Ace’s, eyes on the sea, “I wouldn’t mind.”

“You’re such a dork,” Ace laughs, his head tipped back as he does what a star does best.

Shine.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure I like how this came out, but it took forever and I'm tired of staring at it. Posted from tumblr.
> 
> Now with fanart: http://queen-gr.tumblr.com/post/146003666720/so-i-read-what-stars-do-best-on-ao3-and-then-spent


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